When a patient says they’re up two or three times a night to urinate, the workup tends to focus on the prostate or bladder. But often the real problem is the airway.
The mechanism is well described. Each time the airway collapses during sleep, the effort to breathe sends sharp pressure swings through the chest that distend the heart’s upper chambers. The heart reads this as fluid overload and releases atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), which signals the kidneys to excrete sodium and water. The result is nighttime urination that no bladder treatment can fix. Importantly, this is a marker of moderate-to-severe apnea, not mild disease, and it scales with the depth of oxygen desaturation, with drops below 90% being particularly significant.
WatchPAT One
Dr. Doneskey is happy to announce that a new home sleep test (HST) is now being offered in his office. The WatchPAT One disposable sleep test offers patients convenience and efficiency in getting their results. The WatchPAT device technology not only records true sleep time but also stages of sleep (light/deep/REM). It is also the simplest home sleep test for patients to use as it does not require an abdominal or nasal monitor. The results of the study determine if future investigation is needed (full PSG). For more information, please give our office a call at any time.
The SilentPartner Oral Appliance
is a patented, FDA-approved oral sleep appliance that was developed by Dr. Doneskey and partners to effectively manage snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. In addition to this, the SilentPartner™ can also manage many TMD-related issues, including TMJ popping, locking, and grinding. Healthy jaw-friendly function, patient comfort, single-point balance, and fast complete adjustability are at the heart of its design. The appliance is customized for each individual patient while its patented mechanism makes ongoing clinical adjustments simpler and much more convenient than other oral sleep appliances on the market today. The SilentPartner™ provides patients with a convenient and comfortable alternative to CPAP therapy with the additional important benefit of effectively preventing clenching and grinding on back teeth, both of which can be secondary sleep disorders seen in most sleep apnea patients.